Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh and Thailand Introduction and methodology This fact finding report has been produced by the Documentation and Project Division, Danish Immigration Service (DIS) for use by officials involved in the asylum determination process. The information included in the report was gathered during a fact finding mission to Dhaka and Cox‟s Bazar in Bangladesh and Bangkok in Thailand between 4 February and 17 February 2011. The mission was undertaken in order to investigate various issues related to the situation of the Rohingya people mainly in Bangladesh, including cultural features, language issues, social and economic situation as well as documents and the situation at the border crossing to Burma. As some of the organizations working with the Rohingya are based in Thailand, the mission also visited Bangkok and included information related to the situation for the Rohingya people in Thailand/the South East Asian region. It should be noted that the purpose of the mission was not to investigate the situation for the Rohingya people in North Rakhine State (Arakan) in Burma, as their situation and protection needs as refugees outside Burma are already well documented and not an issue for discussion in the Danish asylum system. Most asylum applications related to Rohingya people received in Denmark come from people who claim to be Rohingya and have had a long stay in Bangladesh. The main purpose of this mission was therefore to collect background information to assess such cases. In Bangladesh the delegation had meetings in Dhaka as well as in Cox‟s Bazar. The delegation also obtained permission visit the refugee camps in Ukhia and Teknaf. The condition for this visit was that no meetings with the refugees would be held. A visit was also made to the Gundum border point between Bangladesh and Burma. In Thailand the delegation visited Bangkok. The terms of reference for the mission were created by DIS and include comments from the Danish Refugee Appeals Board as well as other partners. The Terms of Reference is included as Annex 1. In the scope of compiling this report, the delegation consulted a range of sources in Bangladesh and Thailand consisting of local authorities, diplomatic missions, international organisations, local NGOs and academia. The sources were contacts established prior to departure as well as sources suggested by relevant international and national partners working with country of origin information (COI). Before each meeting, all sources were briefed that the information they provided would be for public use in accordance with Danish legislation. The interviews were recorded in handwritten form. Each source was offered to review his or her own statements in the records written by the delegation. Six sources wanted to review the record of their respective meetings whereas the other sources agreed to be quoted at the discretion of the delegation. Each source was asked for permission to be quoted by name. Some sources abstained from this request either because they had concerns for their diplomatic relations with the Government of Bangladesh or because they had concerns for those they were assisting (the Rohingya). Most sources agreed to be quoted by name, however, some sources wished to remain partly anonymous with e.g. only type of organization/mission being published and one source wished to remain totally anonymous. (Reference is made to Organisations, authorities and persons consulted). 5